Salmon's year to remember
By Mark Stevens
11/4/18
Exeter lock Toby Salmon insists his first season with the Chiefs has already exceeded expectations, even though the 2017/18 campaign still has plenty to offer for everyone at Sandy Park.
A new arrival from Championship side Rotherham Titans lasts summer, the 25-year-old forward has settled well to life in Devon - and he’s already pocketed his first success by playing a key role in Exeter’s recent Anglo-Welsh Cup triumph.
Salmon grabbed his fourth try of the season when he touched down during the first half of Exeter’s 28-11 Cup Final victory over Bath at Kingsholm, a result which ensured Rob Baxter’s side picked up the first piece of silverware for the season.
“A lot of hard work has gone in and my game has developed a lot with the coaches at Exeter and all the set-up at the club, which has been fantastic,” said Salmon. “It was obviously great to win a bit of silverware in my first year with the club.
“A lot of players can go through their whole career and only be involved in one of two finals, so to have one in my first year at the club and to go on and win it was great. The try was the icing on the cake, I don’t score too many and it was nice to have one in the final.”
A winners’ medal and a try in the final, it was all the stuff of dreams for the Norwich-born forward. However, Salmon is keen to push on and help the Chiefs to achieve even greater success in the coming weeks and months.
His aim is to try and get himself involved in the first-team squad for some of the remaining Premiership games as the Chiefs look to retain their title. He added: “We are at the business end of the season, we have still got our A League games, but the big goal for me and players like me is to get in the Premiership games and stamp our mark on them.”
Salmon cites the example of some of his Exeter team-mates, the likes of Mitch Lees, Tomas Francis and Harry Williams to name but a few, all of whom have stepped up from the Championship to establish themselves as key cogs in the Chiefs wheel.
“When I found out I was coming down here from the Championship, I was very excited, especially to a club as great as Exeter,” he said. “It has been beyond my expectations in a way and I am really enjoying my time here.
“I was keen to come here because they have got a structure where they not only have a fantastic academy, they are always looking at the Championship or Exeter University to integrate those guys in and whether they need to get a bit more experience in the Anglo-Welsh Cup or at Cornish Pirates or at Plymouth Albion, and there is a structure in place.
“Franny is a fantastic example. He was playing in the Championship for a few years, he came to Exeter, made his mark and now he is playing for Wales. It proves there is a model in place here, for players coming from the Championship.”